GLSKA New Trippers Trip

Massassauga Park: June 20 – June 22

by Sally Dobson

We drove through driving rain but the rain stopped as we readied for launch at 11:45 a.m. – amongst clouds of mosquitoes. Under Dave Beckett’s gentle and expert guidance, and the assistance of his friend, Ed Irwin, 6 of us (Gerry Croney, Jens Truebenbach, Paula Huber, Barry Butcher, Arend de Boer and myself, Sally Dobson) paddled and made our way to a great campsite. It was sunny and warm as we set up tents. Ed offered to take anyone interested on a “short paddle” before dinner – those who did learned a new definition of “short” and were thereafter cautious! Over dinner preparations, we unabashedly examined and questioned each other about gear, packing and cooking tips and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of various travel reward systems. (Some shared that their partners were “Holiday Inn” rather than kayak tripping-type travelers.) We learned a new acronym from Arend: FOF – Friendly Old Fellow. There was a lovely generosity of spirit and sharing of food, tips and stories.

A view of Georgian Bay from Wreck Island
A view of Georgian Bay from Wreck Island

Barry made it his mission to convert all to “All-Bran bars,” with some success, while no one could be converted to Jens’s protein supplement! Saturday was beautiful, hot and sunny and John joined us to paddle for the day. The very tasteful trail markers of engraved granite on the Wreck Island hike impressed Paula and Sally. Gerry shared his great story (featured in Bert Millar’s article in last summer’s issue of Qayaq) as well as his instruction skills, teaching me a self rescue (resulting in only a few bruises in strange places). The swimming was a great reward at the end of the day for some.

We saw red spotted turtles, a rattler sunning himself, a bear, herons and much gorgeous scenery. As people became more comfortable with each other, the conversation became even more interesting and lots of fun. We enjoyed an echo and the sounds of woodpeckers, grouse, frogs and crickets. After a beautiful pink sky with sheet lightening, despite our campfire, the bugs forced us all into our tents and we had heavy rain and thunderstorms at night.

A nice day again Sunday and we parted tired, happy, a little wiser and with a new set of paddling friends!

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